Author: Ruchi Kol, University of Allahabad, Faculty of Law
ABSTRACT:
Legal writing is the backbone of the legal profession. For law interns and students, writing legal articles is not just an academic exercise but a tool for building a career, reputation, and intellectual identity. However, with the rise of legal blogging platforms, LinkedIn publishing, and freelance content writing portals, a new form of intellectual theft has become rampant: the unauthorized copying, reproduction, and publication of original legal articles without the author’s consent. Many students complain that their articles, sent for review or publication, are later found published under a different author’s name. This article provides a comprehensive legal analysis of such infringement. It explores the nature of copyright in legal articles as a literary work under Section 2(o) of the Copyright Act, 1957, the bundle of rights available to the author under Section 14 and moral rights under Section 57, the test of infringement laid down by the judiciary, and the civil and criminal remedies available to the aggrieved author. The article aims to empower young legal writers to protect their intellectual property.
TO THE POINT:-
The factual scenario is very common and can be divided into three distinct patterns of scam:
Pattern 1:- The Client Ghosting Scam:- A freelance legal writer gets a project from Internshala, Upwork, or a Telegram group. The client says, “Write 5 articles on new criminal laws, 1000 words each, I will pay Rs. 8000 after delivery.” The writer, after 7 days of research, delivers the articles in Word format. The client stops replying, blocks the writer, and publishes all five articles on his own commercial website and starts earning through Google Adsense.
Pattern 2:- The Fake Journal Scam:- A law student sends her original article on “Right to Privacy” to a journal that claims to be “UGC Approved with ISSN”. The journal replies after 10 days, “Your article is not selected.” Two months later, the student finds her exact article, word-to-word, published in that same journal under the name of another student who paid Rs. 2000 for publication.
Pattern 3:- The Senior-Junior Plagiarism:- A junior intern in a law firm writes a detailed research note on “Arbitration Law” for a senior. The senior forwards that note to a reputed legal blog like Lawctopus or iPleaders and gets it published in his own name to build his own CV, without giving any credit to the junior.
In all three cases, the original author suffers loss of reputation, loss of monetary benefit, and mental harassment. Legally, this is not just cheating, but also copyright infringement.
USE OF LEGAL JARGON:-
To understand the remedy, we must understand the legal framework.
1. What is Copyright? Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights given to the creator of an original work. According to Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957, the owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, publish it, make copies, communicate it to the public, and make adaptations.
2. Is a Legal Article a “Work”? Yes. Under Section 2(o), “literary work” includes all written works, regardless of quality or style. An original legal article, even written by a first-year law student, is a literary work. The only requirement is “originality” – which as per the Supreme Court means that the work must originate from the author and must involve some skill, labour and judgment. It should not be a mere copy.
3. Who is the First Owner? – Section 17:* The general rule is that the author is the first owner of copyright. If you write an article in your personal capacity, you are the owner. The exception is “work made for hire” under Section 17(c) – if you are employed under a contract of service and you write an article as part of your employment, then your employer is the owner. But for interns, there is usually no formal contract of service, so the intern remains the owner.
4. Economic Rights vs Moral Rights:* Economic rights under Section 14 allow you to earn money from your article. Moral Rights under Section 57 are even more important. These include (a) Right of Paternity – the right to claim authorship of your work, and (b) Right of Integrity – the right to restrain distortion or mutilation of your work that harms your reputation. Moral rights are perpetual and cannot be waived, even if you sell your economic rights.
5. What is NOT Protected?* It is important to know that ideas, facts, and judgments themselves are not protected. Under the doctrine of merger, if there is only one way to express an idea, then that expression is not protected. For example, the text of Section 318 of BNS is public domain. But the way you explain it, your analysis, your structure, your arguments – that is protected.
THE PROOF – How to Prove Copyright Infringement in Court :-
In a court of law, the burden of proof is on the plaintiff (original author). You must prove two things on a preponderance of probabilities.
Stage 1: Proof of Ownership and Originality:
You must show you are the author. The best evidence is:
a) Original MS Word file – Right click > Properties > Details shows date created, author name.
b) Drafts and research notes, emails where you discussed the article.
c) The concept of “Poor Man’s Copyright” – Email the article to yourself before sending it to anyone. The timestamp of the email is strong evidence under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.
d) Certificate from a plagiarism tool showing your article is original and was created earlier.
Stage 2: Proof of Copying and Access:
You must show the defendant had access to your work and copied it.
a) Access: Show the email, WhatsApp chat, or Internshala chat where you sent the article to the defendant.
b) Substantial Similarity: Show both articles side-by-side. Use Duplichecker or Turnitin to generate a similarity report of 80-100%.
c) Preservation of Evidence: Take screenshots of the infringing website with URL and date. Save the page on Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) so that even if the infringer deletes the article, you have proof. Get the screenshot certified under Section 63(4) of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 for electronic evidence.
The Supreme Court in R.G. Anand case said the test is whether a common reader feels that one work is a copy of another.
CASE LAWS – Landmark Judgments on Copyright in Legal Writings:
1. Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak & Anr. (2008) 1 SCC 1: This is the Bible for legal writers. Eastern Book Company publishes Supreme Court Cases (SCC). They add headnotes, short notes, editorial footnotes, and formatting. Defendants launched a software that copied entire SCC judgments verbatim. The Supreme Court of India, in this historic judgment, held that while the raw judgments of courts are in public domain and have no copyright, the headnotes, editorial notes, and the internal aids prepared by EBC require skill, labour and capital, and therefore HAVE copyright. The Court applied the test of “Skill and Judgment with a flavour of creativity”. This case directly proves that a legal article written by a student involves skill and judgment and is thus protected.
2. R.G. Anand v. M/s. Deluxe Films & Ors., AIR 1978 SC 1613: This is the locus classicus on infringement. The plaintiff wrote a play “Hum Hindustani” and the defendant made a film “New Delhi” based on it. The Supreme Court laid down that infringement must be judged from the point of view of an ordinary layman. If the two works are substantially similar, it is infringement. The Court also said that ideas cannot be copyrighted, only expression can be.
3. Syndicate of the Press Trust of India v. Ahuja & Ors., Delhi High Court, 2023: In this recent case, several news portals were copying PTI news articles and legal explainers without permission. The Delhi High Court granted an injunction and awarded punitive damages of Rs. 10 lakhs, holding that systematic copying of articles for commercial gain is blatant infringement.
4. University of Oxford v. Rameshwari Photocopy Services (The Delhi University Photocopy Case), 2016: Although this case allowed photocopying for educational purposes under fair dealing (Section 52), the Court clarified that copying an entire book or article and selling it for profit is NOT fair dealing. If a fake journal copies your whole article, it cannot claim fair dealing.
5. Anil Kapoor v. Simply Life India & Ors., Delhi High Court (2023): In this landmark personality rights case, the Delhi High Court protected actor Anil Kapoor from misuse of his name and work by AI and fake websites. The Court held that unauthorized use of a person’s work violates his moral rights and right to publicity. This principle extends to legal authors as well.
CONCLUSION:
In the legal profession, your name is your brand and your articles are your identity. Allowing someone to steal your article is like allowing someone to steal your identity.
The Copyright Act, 1957 provides very strong protection, but most law students are unaware of it. You do not need to pay Rs. 5000 to register your copyright. Your right is born the moment you write. However, you must be vigilant.
Always follow these three golden rules:
1. Create a Paper Trail: Always send your article via email, never just on WhatsApp. Write in the email, “This article is my original work, copyright owned by me.”
2. Use Technology: Add a footer in your document: “© 2026 Ruchi Kol. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced without written permission.”
3. Take Action Immediately: If you find your article stolen, do not just post on LinkedIn. Send a strong Legal Notice under Section 55 and 57 of Copyright Act and Section 318 of BNS. File a DMCA Takedown with Google to remove the link. If the infringer does not comply within 15 days, file a civil suit for injunction and damages and a criminal complaint under Section 63 of Copyright Act (punishment up to 3 years jail).
The law will only help those who help themselves. As future lawyers, we must first learn to protect our own intellectual property before we protect our clients’.
FAQ:
Q1. My article is only 1500 words. Does it still have copyright?*
Yes. There is no minimum word limit for copyright. Even a 200-word original legal note has copyright if it is original.
Q2. Can I get compensation if my article is stolen?*
Yes. Under Section 55 of Copyright Act, you can claim actual damages (money you lost), account of profits (money the infringer earned from your article), and even punitive damages for mental harassment.
Q3. How much does it cost to file a case for copyright infringement?
You can start with a free DMCA takedown to Google. For a civil suit in District Court, court fees is around Rs. 1000-5000. For criminal complaint under Section 63, you can file an FIR at the cyber crime police station for free
